4.
OLAT - Open Source LMS
OLAT - Open Source LMS
OLAT Calendar
We publish our release dates,
conference participations and
other important dates
Welcome to OLAT (Online Learning And Training), the web-based regarding OLAT in our
open-source Learning Management System (LMS) 1 based on Java and OLAT calendar. You
completely free of charge. can subscribe to that
The development of OLAT started in 1999 at the University of Zurich, calendar--and integrate it into
Switzerland, where it is the strategic learning management system and your own calendar--via the
deployed on the main OLAT server. The University of Zurich leads the OLAT Calendar iCal Link!
further development and has a team of 12 developers pushing OLAT
to the next level. Vote for OLAT
See the OLAT feature list or the documentation section to get more
information about OLAT. For a first impression see OLAT in action Do you like OLAT? Vote
using the demo server and the list of known installations. for OLAT at UNESCO.org or
If you want to join the open-source community subscribe to our mailing see the voting results
lists and browse the developers' section.
Official support for OLAT for Swiss university members is available
at the Multimedia & E-Learning Services. Commercial support is Only pictures can
available through frentix GmbH and in Germany for universities, be viewed in
academic institutions and other associations also through BPS GmbH. the PDF version!
For Flash etc.
First international OLAT conference 2008 see online version.
(26.11.2007) We are very happy to announce the first international Only screenshots of
OLAT conference from March 26th to 28th 2008 in Zurich, Switzerland animations will be
displayed. [link]
Donation
Only pictures can
be viewed in
the PDF version!
For Flash etc.
see online version.
Only screenshots of
animations will be
displayed. [link]
http://www.olat.org - Version from: 10.12.2007 2
Who visits OLAT.org?

5.
OLAT - Open Source LMS
1. More Information About OLAT
Why should I use OLAT?
Thanks for your interest in OLAT
• It is open-source and therefore free of charge
• The Java based framework can handle over 700 students simultaneously on one standard Linux server
• Thanks to its simple and intuitive web frontend, users will learn how to work with OLAT in no time
• OLAT uses cutting edge AJAX/Web 2.0 technology
• It is multilingual (UTF8) and offers translations for over 15 languages
• OLAT supports eLearning standards such as SCORM, IMS Content Packaging or QTI
See the feature list for more details.
The user's home portal with configurable portlets
1.1. OLAT Feature List and Some Screenshots
Click on the screenshots to get a full-size view!
http://www.olat.org - Version from: 10.12.2007 3

7.
OLAT - Open Source LMS
The resource list displays all available In the user management you can
courses according to a student's role add, modify or delete OLAT users
The OLAT administration offers tools to log, modify In OLAT each user can modify his or
and delete sessions, errors, log levels, locks etc. her personal settings in the home tab
1.2. OLAT Demo Server: Test OLAT Before Downloading It!
Feel free to test OLAT before you download and install it. Our demo server allows a login in different roles
and languages. Please do not store any data on it since all courses are deleted automatically every weekend.
To access our demo server, please go to:
demo.olat.org
1.3. Who Uses OLAT? List of OLAT Installations
As far as we know, there are about 150 OLAT installations running worldwide. Some of them are just for test
purposes, some are used for internal training but most of them are productive installations at some university
or higher education institution. We do list the most important ones below. To our knowledge, OLAT has been
installed in the following countries:
http://www.olat.org - Version from: 10.12.2007 5

8.
OLAT - Open Source LMS
• Australia • India • Russia
• Austria • Indonesia • South Africa
• Brazil • Iran • Spain
• Chile • Italy • Sweden
• China • Korea • Switzerland
• Croatia • Kyrgyzstan • Taiwan
• Czech Republic • Lithuania • Turkey
• Denmark • Malaysia • Ukraine
• France • Peru • USA
• Germany • Poland • Vietnam
• Greece • Portugal
From the visits on our website we know that there are people interested in OLAT at the following locations
(see ClustrMaps for more information ):
OLAT.org website visits since the release of OLAT 5.2 (July 2007)
Furthermore OLAT has been or is being translated into most of the above countries' national language and
more translations are on their way. Please check our OLAT translations page for a complete overview! If your
country is missing or if you are interested in translating OLAT, please send us an e-mail.
OLAT Main Installation: Universities of Zurich, Basel, Bern, Lucerne and the Federal Institute of
Technology
The main OLAT installation is located at the University of Zurich (maintained by the Multimedia & E-Learning
Services of the University of Zurich) but used by more universities such as the University of Basel, the
University of Bern, the University of Lucerne, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich and in
Lausanne. It is accessible via the "Swiss Login" AAI 2 and therefore available for all AAI member institutions.
Up and running since 1999 when OLAT 1.0 was installed.
• 23.08.2007: release 5.2.0 installed, 30'200 users, 700 authors and over 1000 published courses
• Between 250 and 400 users simultaneously online every day; the maximum is 750 users
2
AAI stands for Authentication and Authorization Infrastructure (AAI). For detailed information both on technical and organizational
level refer to the SWITCH AAI page.
http://www.olat.org - Version from: 10.12.2007 6

9.
OLAT - Open Source LMS
• Single-server environment for OLAT, MySQL and Wildfire IM Server. See server requirements for
more technical information.
University of Zurich OLAT Installation
Bildungsportal Sachsen BPS
The BPS Bildungsportal Sachsen GmbH decided to use OLAT as their strategic future LMS. The BPS is a
joint venture company financed by 10 universities in the state of Sachsen, Germany. Since BPS customized
OLAT and built new features they renamed their product from OLAT to OPAL and promote their LMS under
this name.
• Authentication done via Shibboleth infrastructure (Sachsen first and only German state using Shibboleth
state-wide at all universities)
• Currently using the latest 5.2 release
• Nearly 20'000 registered users
BPS Bildungsportal Sachsen GmbH is one of the major contributors of the OLAT project.
BPS OLAT Installation
Warmia and Mazury Vocational Education Centre in Olsztyn (Poland)
Warmia and Mazury Vocational Education Centre in Olsztyn is an educational organisation which deal with
vocational courses in many areas such as: building construction, landscape architecture, surveying and many
others. It provides also many driving license courses.
• Installation of OLAT 5.2.2
• Default language is Polish
• Instant Messaging / Openfire enabled
http://www.olat.org - Version from: 10.12.2007 7

11.
OLAT - Open Source LMS
Top Originators, USA
The goal of Top Originators is to introduce their customers to the profitable world of loan origination. For
online training purposes the company is using a customized and extended version of OLAT.
• Based on OLAT 3.2.1
• Addition of a certification course element
• Addition of a search course element
• GUI customization
Installation, customization and extension development done by Agile Studios, USA.
Top Originators OLAT Installation
Gartenbauschule LVG Heidelberg, Germany
The LVG Heidelberg is a school for horticulture in Germany.
• Installation of OLAT 5.1
• Instant Messaging / Jabber enabled
• Customized GUI
Customization and installation done by frentix GmbH.
Gartenbauschule OLAT Installation
http://www.olat.org - Version from: 10.12.2007 9

13.
OLAT - Open Source LMS
University of Zurich IRC (Accounting and Controlling)
Decentralized installation for the accounting and controlling institute of the University of Zurich. Fork of early
OLAT version, individual GUI implementation
IRC OLAT Installation
Academia Bohemica
The Academia Bohemica is a new internet university with the target to provide good university education for
unprivileged people. Courses in philosophy and history are now in preparation.
• OLAT 4.1 release installed
• Default language is Czech
• Some courses accessible with guest account
Academia Bohemica
http://www.olat.org - Version from: 10.12.2007 11

14.
OLAT - Open Source LMS
Frentix E-Learning Server
The frentix GmbH offers commercial services such as ASP, hosting, customizing, development, support, and
training for the LMS OLAT. The learn.frentix.com server is used by frentix for OLAT training courses and
hosts courses from frentix customers.
Currently the version 5.1 is installed.
frentix OLAT server
Swiss Federal Strategy Unit for Information Technology FSUIT
The HERMES project management method is used to manage, develop and execute projects in Information
and Communication Technologies (ICT). It has been developed by the federal administration in 1975 and
has since then underwent extensive revisions in 1986 and 1995. HERMES is not just used by the federal
administration as open standard but is also at the disposal of cantons, educational institutions and business
enterprises. HERMES has become a significant success as regards numerous ICT projects and serves as a
common guideline for service providers and service procurers, in particular for project purchasers, project
managers and project employees.
OLAT is used to train the HERMES project management method. Currently the version 5.0 is installed.
Installation, customization and extension development done by frentix GmbH.
HERMES E-Learning
http://www.olat.org - Version from: 10.12.2007 12

15.
OLAT - Open Source LMS
KTSI: Höhere Fachschule (HF) für Technik
The KTSI is a technical school in Basel, Switzerland.
In 2006 students evaluated and tested OLAT. The positive result of that project convinced the school board to
push OLAT as their e-learning platform. In January 2007 OLAT went live and is very successful according
to the school director.
KTSI E-Learning
Alta scuola pedagogica dei Grigoni, Switzerland
Since spring 2007 the Pädagogische Hochschule Graubünden offers an OLAT server running on the latest
5.1.3 release.
Realized and implemented by the ICT-Atelier in Chur.
PHGR OLAT Installation
Are You Missing Your OLAT Installation Here?
Please send a mail to info@olat.orgalong with your text and links if you want to be added to this site!
1.4. OLAT Download Material
Flyers and Posters
Feel free to download and print the product flyer of OLAT if you would like to promote OLAT on congresses,
in workshops, your organisation or elsewhere.
OLAT 5 Flyer 0.6MB PDF Print this PDf in duplex
mode and fold it in half to
get the OLAT brochure in
DIN A5 format
OLAT 5 Flyer 1.2MB AI ZIP archive with frontside
and backside of flyer as
Adobe Illustrator file (can
be edited)
http://www.olat.org - Version from: 10.12.2007 13

16.
OLAT - Open Source LMS
OLAT 5 Poster 1.7MB PDF This version is for print
only. Print it in DIN A0
format on a plotter to get
the best results
OLAT 5 Poster 1.0MB AI This version can be edited
by using the Adobe
Illustrator
The OLAT Logo
OLAT Logo with Text 40kB GIF This simple GIF version
can be used for websites
etc.
OLAT Logo with Text 180kB AI This version can be edited
by using the Adobe
Illustrator, A3 format
(resizable)
OLAT Logo with Text 204kB PDF This version is for
print only, A3 format
(resizable)
OLAT Logo Stand-alone 192kB AI This version can be edited
by using the Adobe
Illustrator, A3 format
(resizable)
OLAT Logo Stand-alone 212kB PDF This version is for
print only, A3 format
(resizable)
University of Zurich Logo
If you need the University of Zurich logo or font have a look at the UniCommunication Corporate Design page.
Unfortunately this page is only accessible for students and staff. Therefore we publish the PNG version (can
be used for web and print) of the logo below:
Logo University of Zurich (Black Font) 40kB PNG English, Black Font
Logo der Universität Zürich (Schwarze Schrift) 40kB PNG German, Black Font
Logo University of Zurich (White Font) 40kB PNG English, White Font
Logo der Universität Zürich (Weisse Schrift) 40kB PNG German, White Font
http://www.olat.org - Version from: 10.12.2007 14

17.
OLAT - Open Source LMS
1.5. Short Overview of the History of OLAT
Only pictures can be viewed in the PDF version! For Flash etc. see online version. Only screenshots
of animations will be displayed. [link]
Earlier OLAT News
Roadmap for OLAT 5.2: Usability (Usage and Installation), Workflows and AJAX
(12.6.2007) We are currently working on the next OLAT release 5.2 due in late summer 2007. The main topics
planned for the next release are:
• AJAX: from Beta feature to Productive
• User deletion
• Usability (usability lab results, easier group management, forum, portlets, glossary, overlays, Wizards)
• Community, installer for productive environment
OLAT 5.1.3 (May 8th, 2007)
The latest OLAT release contains some bug fixes in the HTML and test editor. Please refer to the complete
notes to see a full list of changes and grab your copy from the download page.
OLAT 5.1.2 Released (March 5th, 2007)!
OLAT 5.1.2 is out! It is most and for all a bug fix release to resolve problems caused by the earlier version.
Please refer to the complete notes to see a full list of changes and grab your copy from the download page.
OLAT 5.1 Public Release Available
The OLAT 5.1 Public has been released today (March 14th, 2007). Please note that OLAT 5.1.0 has only been
released at the University of Zurich. The OLAT 5.1 Public Release is in fact OLAT 5.1.1.
OLAT 5.1 is mainly a consolidation release. As you can see from the notes the OLAT team contributed over
170 bug fixes and improvements. We decided that before implementing new features we needed to improve
the existing features. Nevertheless OLAT 5.1 comprises some new features:
• New Wiki engine: The new Wiki engine offers a lot more functions (e.g. image thumbnails, footnotes
etc.) and is superior to the one introduced in OLAT 5.0 (many bugs have been fixed). Please refer to
JamWiki for a full Wiki syntax.
• Glossary: OLAT now offers a learning resource called "glossary" which can be included into one or
several courses. Please refer to the manual for further information.
• The HTML editor now offers a possibility to include internal links to course elements (no need to copy
and paste IDs and go-to-node javascripts)
OLAT Presented in the Newspaper ''Neue Zürcher Zeitung'' (NZZ)
One of the major Swiss newspapers, the "Neue Zürcher Zeitung" (NZZ), presents OLAT in its section
on "Media and Informatics" (March 9th, 2007). You can find the article "Vom E-Learning zum «Blended
Learning»" online on the NZZ website. The article is available in the Press section but only in German.
http://www.olat.org - Version from: 10.12.2007 15

18.
OLAT - Open Source LMS
OLAT Webapp Framework @ JAX
OLAT has its own web application MVC GUI framework. The essence of the separated framework is submitted
under the name brasato framework for the JAX Innovation Award 2007.
• brasato framework
• brasato demo
• jax-innovation-award
OLAT 5.1 Public Release in Two Weeks
The OLAT 5.1 Public Release was planned for tomorrow (March 8th, 2007). Unfortunately we must announce
that the release has to be deferred for at least two weeks. OLAT 5.1 was released at the University of Zurich
one week ago. This server hosts more than 25'000 users and more than 1000 courses. While the system is up
and running we have found some hidden bugs and would like to fix them before we go public with OLAT 5.1.
We would like to apologize for the delay and comfort our open-source user with the fact that when OLAT 5.1
Public is released, it will be thoroughly tested and will work no matter what your setup is. Thanks for your
patience and your interest in OLAT!
Using OLAT for E-Assessments at the University of Zurich
The E-Learning Center of the University of Zurich has currently presented E-Assessments in its podcast. In
the last edition of the E-Learning podcast the OLAT team leader Franziska Schneider talks about "OLAT &
E-Assessments". You can download and listen to this 15 min-podcast here. Furthermore the online magazine
"UniPublic" has just published an article on the same topic. Please visit the UniPublic website for more
information. Both publications are only available in German.
http://www.olat.org - Version from: 10.12.2007 16

19.
OLAT - Open Source LMS
OLAT Team at LearnTec in Karlsruhe (Germany)
Presenting OLAT to eLearning professionals
1.6. Press
• Gremmelmaier, Eric, 2007. NZZ: Nach dem Hype der Alltag. Neue Zürcher Zeitung NZZ, April 3rd.
On the 3rd of April 2007 one of the biggest daily newspapers, the Neue Zürcher Zeitung NZZ, wrote a second article on e-learning
at the University of Zurich. In that article Eric Gremmelmaier has a closer look at online courses and teaching material at the
University of Zurich.
Download: ../download/publications/nzz_hype_alltag.pdf
• Zuberbühler, Hans-Jörg, 2007. Vom E-Learning zum «Blended Learning». Neue Zürcher Zeitung
NZZ, March 9th.
On the 9th of March 2007 one of the biggest daily newspapers, the Neue Zürcher Zeitung NZZ, dealt with e-learning at the
University of Zurich. In that article Hans-Jörg Zuberbühler (member of the OLAT team) talks about OLAT and eLML (eLesson
Markup Language, see www.elml.ch) at the University of Zurich.
Download: ../download/publications/nzz_blended_learning_print.pdf
• Strunk, Holger, 2007. Open Source und kostenlose Software – Einsatzmöglichkeiten im Unterricht.
B&B Agrar - Die Fachzeitschrift für Bildung und Beratung, 3, 88.
Holger Strunk at the Staatliche Lehr- und Versuchsanstalt für Gartenbau Heidelberg explains how OLAT is used at their school.
Download: http://www.frentix.com/de/resources/articles/Artikel-BBAgrar-2.pdf
• Schulze-Fröhlich, Ruben (2006). Interview OLAT (Florian Gnägi) [online]. lmsnews.com. Available
from: http://www.lmsnews.com [Accessed 22.11.2006].
In this interview Florian Gnägi, one of the founder of the OLAT LMS, talks about the early days of OLAT, its possibilities and
where it is heading. It gives also some insight into the project's structure and its development cycle.
Download: http://www.lmsnews.com/modules/content/index.php?id=28
http://www.olat.org - Version from: 10.12.2007 17

20.
OLAT - Open Source LMS
• Genner, Sahra, 2006. Exportschlager E-Learning. iQ - Quartalinfo für Uni und ETH, 18th April, 11.
Sarah wraps up the history of OLAT and talks about the current situation in a short article in IQ. That article is based on an
interview with one of the OLAT founders, Sabina Jeger.
Download: ../download/publications/iQ51-p11.pdf
• SwissICT, 2006. FOSS-Studie Schweiz 2006. Baden: Schweizerischer Verband der Informations- und
Kommunikationstechnologie SwissICT.
In the Swiss FOSS study of 2006 Florian Gnägi presents how he introduced OLAT at the Zentrum für Ausbildung im
Gesundheitswesen (ZAG).
Download: http://www.swissict.ch/fileadmin/sekretariat/download/foss-studie_2006.pdf
• Schleifer, Hans-Jörg, Strunk, Holger, 2006. Blended-Learning in der Fachschule - Einsatz einer
Lernplattform im Unterricht. B&B Agrar - Die Fachzeitschrift für Bildung und Beratung, 5, 162.
Download: http://www.frentix.com/de/resources/articles/BB-Agrar-Artikel-1.pdf
• Zuberbühler, Hans-Jörg (2005). OLAT bringt Release 4.0. ZInfo - Elektronisches Informationsbulletin
der Informatikdienste [online], 18. Available from: http://www.id.uzh.ch/publikationen.html [Accessed
22.11.2006].
Hans-Jörg explains in this article what has been added to the OLAT 4.0 release and gives a short outlook into the future. The
article has some nice screenshots of some of the new OLAT features.
Download: http://www.id.uzh.ch/cl/publikationen/zinfo/zinfo0018/kataktuell/olat.html
• Fuchs, Marita (2005). E-Learning im Ernstfall. UniPublic [online], 26.08.2005. Available from:
http://www.unipublic.uzh.ch/ [Accessed 22.11.2006].
This summer at the University of Zurich the first real online tests have been taken substituting paper-based tests in the field of
veterinary medicine. These tests are not just self-tests; students can appeal the test's results should they fail. These online tests
are based on a standard OLAT installation in IMS QTI format. The article further describes this major milestone in the e-learning
process at the University of Zurich.
Download: http://www.unipublic.uzh.ch/campus/uni-news/2005/1824.html
• Abächerli, Martina (2005). Uni Zürich öffnet E-Learning-Plattform für andere Universitäten [online].
pressetext.schweiz. Available from: http://www.pressetext.ch/ [Accessed 22.11.2006].
This article describes the current state of OLAT and how it applies a Shibboleth interface to allow any Swiss student to log in
to the University of Zurich platform.
Download: http://www.pressetext.ch/pte.mc?pte=050805044
• von Däniken, Theo (2005). Beim E-Learning die Nase vorn. UniPublic [online], 05.08.2005. Available
from: http://www.unipublic.uzh.ch/ [Accessed 22.11.2006].
This article describes the current state of OLAT and how the spin-off company goodsolutions has been founded in spring 2005.
Download: http://www.unipublic.uzh.ch/campus/uni-news/2005/1741.html
• Kosler, Monique, Hahn, Daniel, 2005. Projekthandbuch: Funktionelle und softwaretechnische Analyse
sowie Dokumentation der Lernplattform OLAT Version 3.1.4. project thesis. University Chemnitz,
Germany.
Review and documentation of the OLAT 3.2. system architecture.
Download: ../download/publications/OLAT_Projekthandbuch_mitAnhang.pdf
• Anonymous (2005). OLAT 4.0.1 Review [online]. lmsnews.com. Available from:
http://www.lmsnews.com [Accessed 22.11.2006].
A detailed test review of OLAT 4.0.1. The review covers the following aspects: installation, features, learner experience,
teacher/administrator experience and didactic value
Download: http://www.lmsnews.com/modules/content/index.php?id=21
http://www.olat.org - Version from: 10.12.2007 18

22.
OLAT - Open Source LMS
2. Download the OLAT Software
OLAT 5.2.3 Easy Installer Version (Demo Use Only!)
Just double-click the installer and OLAT will be installed and preconfigured automatically. No need to get
Tomcat, MySQL or anything else. Use this version only for demo purposes or to create courses locally on
your computer.
You need a Java SDK >= 1.5 on your computer. Not yet installed? Get it here.
If you want to test OLAT, play around a bit--this package is all you need.
OLAT 5.2.3 Easy Installer Version 57MB ZIP
OLAT 5.2.3 Source Code Version (for Productive Use)
This package contains everything you need to install OLAT in a productive environment. It features an
ant-based configuration and installation procedure; it requires a tomcat and a database installation as well as a
Java SDK. A manual for the installation procedure can be downloaded in our documentation section.
If you want to use OLAT in a productive environment then this is the right choice.
OLAT 5.2.3 Source Code Version 68MB ZIP
See the release notes of the following major release cycles for more information about the changes in each
version. For a roadmap of our upcoming versions, please visit the OLAT roadmap page.
Download Material
If you would like to download OLAT material such as flyers, logos or posters please have a look at the About
OLAT: Material section.
Previous OLAT Versions
If you need an earlier version of OLAT you can download the latest three major releases below as ZIP archive.
For all other versions please use CVS directly.
OLAT 5.1 Easy 57MB ZIP OLAT 5.1.3 Easy Installer
Version
OLAT 5.1 Source 68MB ZIP OLAT 5.1.3 Source Code
Version
OLAT 5.0 Easy 57MB ZIP OLAT 5.0.2 Easy Installer
Version
OLAT 5.0 Source 67MB ZIP OLAT 5.0.2 Source Code
Version
OLAT 4.1 Easy 42MB ZIP OLAT 4.1.4 Easy Installer
Version
OLAT 4.1 Source 41MB ZIP OLAT 4.1.4 Source Code
Version
http://www.olat.org - Version from: 10.12.2007 20

23.
OLAT - Open Source LMS
2.1. Release Notes
OLAT 5.2 Public Release
Please note that OLAT 5.2.0 has only been released at the University of Zurich. The OLAT 5.2 Public Release
is in fact OLAT 5.2.1.
The OLAT 5.2 release is a big step towards Web 2.0 and usability. In this release we tried to implement the
results of the usability report done by the University of Berne. We also rebuilt the chat client using AJAX
technology and updated the forum. Here is a short list of improvements:
• Usability: New tabs for navigation, creating groups from within course editor, better publishing support
etc.
• Web 2.0/AJAX: Faster!
• Better chat client: Now HTML/AJAX based
• Forum: Mark threads as sticky or important, split threads
• Deleting workflow: Now you can delete users, groups, courses or resources using sophisticated filters
and with prior notification of users and owners
• The OLAT help in German is now Wiki based (authors can help improve the manual!)
Only pictures can be viewed in the PDF version! For Flash etc. see online version. Only screenshots
of animations will be displayed. [link]
2.2. Documentation
OLAT Overview of Functions
This paper explains the most important features of OLAT. It is meant for decision makers who need to get a
quick overview of the functionality offered by OLAT. This paper does also contain some screenshots of OLAT.
OLAT 5 Functional Survey 1.5MB PDF Overview of OLAT
functions
OLAT 5 Funktionsübersicht 1.5MB PDF Übersicht der OLAT
Funktionen
OLAT User Manual / Online Help
The comprehensive OLAT manual covers authoring of courses and other advanced features. It serves also as
general help for users. The same manual is also implemented in each installed OLAT as an online course. Since
OLAT 5.2 the OLAT help is implemented as a Wiki in order to offer community members a simple way to
help improving and writing the manual. We do not offer a PDF or HTML version anymore, sorry.
OLAT has also an integrated context-sensitive help. Wherever in the application--you will find a little question
mark that gives you an explanation on the topic. Just click on it... Currently this context-sensitive help is
available in German, Italian, English and French. Translating the help or manual into other languages is very
welcomed.
http://www.olat.org - Version from: 10.12.2007 21

24.
OLAT - Open Source LMS
Installation Documentation
The technical documentation explains the installation process and gives you hints on how to customize your
OLAT installation. This documentation is only available in English and updated frequently. The single-page
version is identical to the multiple-pages version but rendered as one big HTML page for better searching and
printing. Many thanks to all those developers who contributed to OLAT's technical documentation! Special
thanks go to the MELS development team who wrote most of the documentation. More technical manuals and
information can be found in the Development section.
Installation Documentation OLAT 5.x HTML Multiple pages
Installation Documentation OLAT 5.x 140kB HTML Single page
OLAT Translation Tool
A short description on how to use the integrated OLAT translation tool that makes translating OLAT to a new
language really easy.
How to set up a new language is described in Section 4.2 of the Installation Documentation (see Development
section).
OLAT Translation Tool User Manual 212kB PDF English
External Documentation
frentix GmbH
frentix has many documents available for download and other overall information about the OLAT LMS:
• frentix Website
• frentix OLAT Overview Page (in German)
• frentix OLAT Resources Download (mostly in German)
BPS Bildungsportal Sachsen GmbH
BPS hosts an OLAT Wiki that is used by the development team for specifications and discussions that are not
hosted in the OLAT bug and issue tracking system JIRA.
• BPS Website
• BPS OLAT Wiki (in German)
2.3. Server Requirements: No Need for a High-End Server!
The following list should give you an impression on what kind of server you will need if you want to install
OLAT. Here are some general tuning tips:
1. Use fast RAM. Be aware that fully buffered memory (FDIMMS) are usually slower than normal DIMMS.
Use FDIMMS only if you really need a lot of memory in your server. If you run OLAT with only 4GB,
there is no need for FDIMMS.
2. Use fast disks. Normally the bottlenecks in OLAT are IO operations; faster disks can deliver more data.
3. If you use a hardware RAID controller, you can enable a disk cache that will speed up things quite a bit.
But be aware that this can cause loss of data in case of a hardware or power failure. In addition be aware
that XFS does not immediately write data to disks!
http://www.olat.org - Version from: 10.12.2007 22

27.
OLAT - Open Source LMS
• BPS Bildungsportal Sachsen GmbH, Germany
• goodsolutions GmbH, Switzerland: Felix Jost, Mike Stock
• beecom, Switzerland: Gabriel Bucher, Rainer Kulow, Pascal Pellmont
• Nouvelle srl, Italy: Roberto Bagnoli
• LaLiLuna tutorial site, Germany: Sebastian Hennebrueder
Other Licenses affected by this Distribution
This product includes...
• software based on the Apache Software License such as Tomcat, Ant, Velocity, Log4J
• software developed by the JDOM Project
• net.sf.jazzlib library. It is under GPL with a special exception: "As a special exception, if you link
this library with other files to produce an executable, this library does not by itself cause the resulting
executable to be covered by the GNU General Public License. This exception does not however
invalidate any other reasons why the executable file might be covered by the GNU General Public
License."
• DHTML calendar software developed by Mike Bazon at dynarch.com. This program is free software
published under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public License.
• TinyMCE WYSIWYG HTML editor (LGPL).
• rss4j library from ChurchillObjects.com.
• SMACK client library from jivesoftware.org.
• Alex Macartney comic strips. Please note that these comics are not public domain and must not be used
for any other purpose than being displayed in the OLAT home portal.
• software developed by the reload SCORM player project.
• SCORM API adapter developed by the ISN (International Relations and Security Network). Author:
Matthai Kurian.
• software for the wiki rendering engine developed by jamwiki.org.
• jsMath Java-Script library.
• tooltip-js javaScript library from Jonathan Weiss
• Quartz job scheduler library from the OpenSymphony project (Apache 2 license)
• prototype javascript framework
• script.aculo.us javascript framework
• extjs javascript framework
http://www.olat.org - Version from: 10.12.2007 25

28.
OLAT - Open Source LMS
3. Development: More Information for Developers
Bug and Feature Development Tracking
For bug tracking and enhancement issues we use JIRA. Go to bugs.olat.org to see which bugs are open or
already fixed and which features are in the development process. If you find a new bug please do post that bug
on our developers' mailing list. If we can reproduce the bug we will add it to the bug tracking system. Please
do always search for existing bug reports before you send a mail. To watch what is committed and by whom
visit our fisheye CVS view:
• OLAT main branch development (RSS-Feed)
• All OLAT development activities (RSS-Feed)
Technical and Developer Documentation
The technical documentation chapter covers OLAT concepts, system architecture and the OLAT development
framework.
Technical documentation OLAT 5.x HTML Multiple pages
Technical documentation OLAT 5.x 160kB HTML Single page
How to set up OLAT in Eclipse
If you would like to develop some extensions or just play with the source code and debug some workflows of a
running OLAT you will need to run OLAT out of the Eclipse IDE. There is a nice guide available for setting up
an OLAT development environment under the Eclipse IDE. We suggest to use the Eclipse WTP build which
includes by default a lot of useful plugins
OLAT Javadoc / API documentation
The generated javadoc of the source code can be found here. A good starting point is the top level package
org.olat which contains a graphical overview. You will find technical explanations of packages and code
examples.
Access to the OLAT CVS
We use the Concurrent Versioning System (CVS) to manage the OLAT source code. If you are interested in the
cutting-edge version of OLAT or if you want to develop OLAT extensions you should check the OLAT CVS
HEAD. There are also other branches with stable versions, e.g. OLAT-5-0-x-BRANCH with version OLAT
5.0.2. We recommend checking OLAT from within the Eclipse IDE (see above). We develop using Eclipse;
all project settings are also part of the project. We use Eclipse 3.1.
• Host: cvs.olat.org
• Repository path: /usr/local/cvs
• User: anonymous
• Password: anonymous
• Connection type: pserver
• After configuring your new CVS location check olat3 of the HEAD branch
When checking OLAT on a shell use the following commands:
1. cvs -d :pserver:anonymous@cvs.olat.org:/usr/local/cvs login (password is anonymous)
http://www.olat.org - Version from: 10.12.2007 26

29.
OLAT - Open Source LMS
2. cvs -d :pserver:anonymous@cvs.olat.org:/usr/local/cvs co olat3
If you want to send us some code, please send only patches you have made using the patch mechanism from
Eclipse. Send us the patch via the developers' mailing list.
See the CVS log archive to get an impression of current development activities.
3.1. Future OLAT Development: Roadmap
Topics for the OLAT 5.3 Release
The next major release 5.3 is planned for January 2008. We will focus on the following topics:
• Continue implementing results from the usability lab at the University of Berne
• Improve the calendar
• Better configuration of portlets (maybe some new portlets) on user entry page
• Wiki bug fixes and improvements
• A new Easy Installer for OLAT
• Infrastructure enhancements
• Redesign of layout based on a CSS framework
• Scalability enhancements
3.2. Mailing Lists
OLAT offers three different mailing lists you can subscribe to:
• Announcement list: New releases are announced via this list. At least one mail per month (moderated
list!).
• Users' list: You have installed OLAT and now have questions or comments on using OLAT? This is
your list.
• Developers' list: You are a Java developer working with OLAT and would like to discuss technical stuff.
This is your list.
The OLAT customer team at the University of Zurich regularly checks the users' list; then the developer team
will respond to mails on the developers' list. So please post general questions and comments on these lists and
do not mail the OLAT team directly.
Subscribing to Lists, Managing Subscriptions
To add or remove mailing list subscriptions you have to login to our list-server first!
Get Your Password
If you have never subscribed to one of our lists and do not have a password (or if you forgot your password)
you can enter your e-mail address below and the server will send you your password:
Only pictures can be viewed in the PDF version! For Flash etc. see online version. Only screenshots
of animations will be displayed. [link]
http://www.olat.org - Version from: 10.12.2007 27

30.
OLAT - Open Source LMS
Login to the List Server
If you have received your password or can still remember it you can login to our list server and manage your
subscriptions (add, remove, browse etc.):
Only pictures can be viewed in the PDF version! For Flash etc. see online version. Only screenshots
of animations will be displayed. [link]
3.3. Translations
OLAT 5.2 is released along with the following user interface languages:
Currently
Translations
under
supported
development:
by
the
us: Afrikaans
•
community:
• German
Arabic
Albanian
• English
Chinese
• (shqip)
(traditional)
French
• Chinese
• Hebrew
Italian
(simplified)
Hungarian
• Spanish
• Czech
• Indonesian
• Danish
(Bahasa)
• Farsi
• Rumantsch
(Persian)
• Turkish
• Greek
• Lithuanian
• Polish
• Portuguese
• Russian
OLAT offers full UTF-8 support and an online translation tool. If you want to help translating OLAT, please
contact info@olat.org. For more information about where OLAT is in use please check our OLAT worldwide
page. A short description on how to use the integrated OLAT translation tool that makes translating really easy:
OLAT Translation Tool User Manual 212kB PDF English
http://www.olat.org - Version from: 10.12.2007 28

31.
OLAT - Open Source LMS
4. Getting OLAT Support
We - the OLAT team at the University of Zurich - usually do not offer support for community installations
of OLAT. If you have general questions about OLAT please subscribe to the OLAT users' or developers'
mailing list and browse through earlier threads or ask questions there. Please check before posting whether
your question has already been answered or not.
If you want commercial support when setting up your OLAT server you can choose from the list below. For
all other general enquiries send us a mail to: info@olat.org. We especially welcome mails if you have installed
a new OLAT server and would like to be listed on our OLAT worldwide page :-)
University of Zurich (UZH)
The OLAT project has been founded 1999 at the University of Zurich and is now hosted by its Multimedia and
E-Learning Services (MELS) division. The university operates and supports a very large OLAT installation
that can also be used by other Swiss universities under a service level agreement.
• Web: www.id.uzh.ch
• Contact: info@olat.org (for Swiss University members only: support@olat.uzh.ch)
• Type: Academic
• Available: Switzerland
• Target group: Members of Swiss universities, no commercial support
• Services: operating, software development, training, support, consulting, content production
frentix GmbH
frentix is an official spin-off company that has been founded in 2006 by one of the co-founders of the OLAT
project to offer commercial support for the open-source LMS OLAT. As a one-stop-shop e-learning service
provider frentix offers all necessary services to successfully setup, customize, introduce and operate OLAT
installations and empower users in building rich e-learning courses. Since frentix is an active partner in the
OLAT open-source community and the development team has a long record in the OLAT project, the company
is also capable of developing new OLAT modules or extending the system architecture on client request.
• Web: www.frentix.com
• Contact: contact@frentix.com
• Type: Commercial
• Available: Switzerland, Europe and worldwide
• Target group: Schools, colleges, universities, companies and other associations
• Services: hosting, operating, customizing, software development, training, support, consulting, content
production
http://www.olat.org - Version from: 10.12.2007 29

32.
OLAT - Open Source LMS
BPS Bildungsportal Sachsen GmbH
The BPS acts as an OLAT service provider for higher education in the state of Sachsen in Germany. BPS
operates and supports a large OLAT installation under the brand OPAL for its university clients and offeres
the same services also to other clients in the field of higher education in Germany. BPS is a spin-off from 11
universities of Sachsen, Germany.
• Web: BPS Contact, Project website
• Contact: info@bps-system.de
• Type: Commercial and academic
• Available: Germany
• Target group: Universities, universities of applied scients, companies and other associations
• Services: operating, software development, training, support, consulting, customizing, hosting
JLS goodsolutions GmbH
goodsolutions is an official spin-off company that has been founded in 2005 by previous members of the OLAT
project team to offer commercial java development services based on the OLAT software framework which
is also known under the name brasato framework. goodsolutions has in-depth knowledge about the OLAT
system architecture and is capable of developing new OLAT modules or extending the system architecture on
client request.
• Web: www.goodsolutions.ch
• Contact: kontakt@goodsolutions.ch
• Type: Commercial
• Available: Switzerland, Europe and worldwide
• Target group: Companies and universities
• Services: Software development
http://www.olat.org - Version from: 10.12.2007 30

33.
OLAT - Open Source LMS
5. Glossary
AAI:
AAI stands for Authentication and Authorization Infrastructure (AAI). For detailed information both on
technical and organizational level refer to the SWITCH AAI page.
LMS:
A Learning Management System (or LMS) is a software package, usually on a large scale (that scale
is decreasing rapidly), that enables the management and delivery of learning content and resources to
students. Most LMS systems are web-based to facilitate "anytime, anywhere" access to learning content
and administration. Some famous open-source LMS are OLAT and Moodle, famous commercial LMS are
WebCT and Blackboard.
Shibboleth:
Shibboleth is standard-based and open-source middleware software which provides Web Single SignOn
(SSO) across or within organizational boundaries. It allows sites to make informed authorization decisions
for individual access of protected online resources in a privacy-preserving manner. See the Shibboleth
Website for more information.
http://www.olat.org - Version from: 10.12.2007 31